Commercial kitchen hoods and suppression systems (US)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For anyone running a commercial kitchen in the US — restaurants, canteens, hotel and healthcare kitchens: the cooking volume classification everything else depends on, cleaning of the entire exhaust path (hood, filters, ducts, fan) at the NFPA 96 frequency, the semiannual inspection of the wet chemical suppression system, and the paperwork the Authority Having Jurisdiction and the insurer ask to see. The intervals come from NFPA 96 and NFPA 17A, paywalled standards not read in the original: they are recommendations, and they become obligations where the local fire code adopts them.
Questions about this product?
Ask what is in the manuals, how often the maintenance is due and what it takes to do it.
What it already has at hand
- No manual on this page
- 8 planned checks, the most frequent every 6 months since the last inspection
Planned checks
Informative summary verified on 12/09/2026. It does not replace legal advice: the regulation cited prevails. If you spot an error, report it.
Some checks are only mandatory in certain countries: pick yours and the list follows.
In Italy this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In France this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Germany this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Switzerland this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Austria this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United Kingdom this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Spain this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Portugal this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
- 01
Class K extinguisher next to the cooking line
The cooking line needs a Class K wet chemical extinguisher, made for kitchen oils and fats, and a sign reminding staff to trip the suppression system first: the extinguisher is what you use afterwards, on what is left. Its monthly inspection, annual maintenance and five-year hydrostatic test live in the portable extinguisher kit (us-extinguishers) and are not repeated here. The operator answers for it; where it hangs is set by the local fire code.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 10; NFPA 10United States only - 02
Classify the cooking volume before setting any deadline
NFPA 96 does not give one frequency: it makes it depend on how you cook. Solid fuel (wood, charcoal) on one side, high volume on the other — twelve to twenty-four hours a day, the kitchen that never closes — then moderate volume, six to twelve hours, and finally low volume or seasonal use, under six hours. The operator does the classification, and it is worth writing it down with the cleaning contractor, because the class decides the frequency of everything else and it changes when menu, hours or equipment change. That is what the annual review is for.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsCompany ruleUnited States only - 03
Keep the cleaning and inspection reports on site
After each job the contractor issues a report with the date, the scope, the operator’s name and — the part that really counts — the list of areas that could not be reached, and puts a dated label on the hood. The operator keeps the file on the premises, available to the Authority Having Jurisdiction, the health inspector and the insurer. Keeping it three years is practice: where the local code sets another period, that one wins. An area listed as unreachable in three reports running is an access job to plan, not a formality.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 11United States only - 04
Semiannual inspection of the suppression system
Every six months a licensed contractor checks the suppression system serving the hood: pressure and integrity of the agent tank, nozzles clean and aimed at the appliances they protect, manual pull station reachable, alarm connection, and the interlock that cuts gas and power to the appliances when the system discharges. The operator answers for it; the result must be kept and produced on request. The semiannual cadence comes from NFPA 96 and 17A, paywalled standards not read in the original, and it is the one local fire codes usually adopt.
every 6 months since the last inspectionRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 11; NFPA 17AUnited States only - 05
Replacement of fusible links and thermal detectors
The fusible links that trip the system get coated with grease and drift out of calibration: they are replaced as part of the periodic inspection, following the standard and the instructions of the installed system’s manufacturer. The exact interval is not stated here because NFPA 96 and 17A were not read in the original: ask the inspecting contractor and record the replacement date next to the inspection date. The operator provides for it through the licensed firm that services the system.
continuous check, confirm every 6 monthsRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 11; NFPA 17AUnited States only - 06
Periodic cleaning of the entire exhaust path
The cleaning is not the hood: it is the whole path the grease travels — plenum, filters, horizontal and vertical ducts, exhaust fan, rooftop discharge — down to bare metal wherever it can be reached. The frequency follows the class: monthly for solid fuel cooking, quarterly for high volume, semiannually for moderate volume, annually for low volume or seasonal use. The reminder is set to the six months of moderate volume: a kitchen in another class moves it to one, three or twelve months. The operator answers for it; the work is done by a specialist contractor, who issues the report and puts a dated label on the hood.
every 6 months since the last jobRecommendedNFPA 96, tabella 11.4United States onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 07
Pre-UL 300 systems: check whether replacement is due
Old dry chemical systems were not designed for the high-temperature vegetable oils of modern fryers: the reference standard today is UL 300, wet chemical. Replacement becomes due when the kitchen is refitted or the appliances change, and in many states the insurer asks for it before the AHJ does. We do not give a cut-off date, because it depends on the code edition adopted locally: the check belongs to the operator, with the firm that services the system.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 10; UL 300United States only - 08
Grease filters and daily cleaning of accessible surfaces
This is the kitchen brigade’s job, not the contractor’s: grease filters are removed and washed as often as use demands — daily in a kitchen at full tilt — and the accessible surfaces of the hood are degreased as routine. It does not replace the periodic cleaning of the exhaust path, but it decides how much grease reaches it. All filters go back, and back in their seats: a hood running with one filter missing sends grease straight into the duct.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 96, cap. 11United States only
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
Something not right on this page?
Help us keep it accurate: every report is read by a person.